Om
Om (sometimes formatted as OM) are a three piece experimental stoner band originally from San Francisco, California, USA. Formed in 2003, they were initially known for being the first project involving Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius since Sleep's dissolution in 1997. Initally the band formed as a power duo though became a trio from 2009 onwards. While the nucleus of Om's sound is based in stoner metal (With the band's MySpace referring to their sound as simply "(((VIBRATIONS)))" the band draws from a host of influences such as psychedelic rock, Middle Eastern Folk, Dub, Reggae and post-rock among other sounds. The band's lyrics are heavily inspired by spirituality and various forms of religion, namely Eastern Orthodox and Middle Eastern variations. Since their inception the band has released five studio albums, three live albums and has toured all over the world making appearances at a host of different festivals over the years. History Om originate from San Francisco, CaliforniaOm Facebook Info, first accessed 3rd August 2015 but as of recent years the respective members have residence in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Cisneros), Portland, Oregon (Amos) and Louisville, Kentucky (Trotter). Their sound could loosely be categorized as traditional stoner metal, but also has influences in doom and psychedelic rock, as well as a wider range of influences in their recent years. They were formed in 2003 by original Sleep bassist and drummer, Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius, respectively. In a departure from Sleep's stylistic influences of Black Sabbath and marijuana, Om's influences are driven from spirituality and the concept of freedom. The name of the band itself is derived from Hindu culture, where the sound 'om' represents the natural vibration of the universe.Huffington Post The Meaning of Om, first accessed 6th August 2015 All of the bands studio albums from Pilgrimage onward, feature Eastern Orthodox iconography. Original lineup (2003 - 2008) After Sleep had officially disbanded in 1997, Chris Hakius joined former Sleep guitarist Justin Marler to form The Sabians, who lasted from 1997 to roughly 2004. Al Cisneros on the other hand stopped playing music entirely, at one point becoming a chess teacherL.A. Record Om@ The Current is Beyond, first accessed 3rd August 2015. At some point in 2003, Cisneros met up with Hakius about possibly forming a new band, opting to not have a guitarist due to the intrigue of exploring music as a duo.Arthur Mag Interview with OM from the pages of ARTHUR MAGAZINE, first accessed 3rd August 2015 Om officially formed in 2003 with their first official live performance was on Sunday, August 14, 2004.Holy Mountain via Wayback MachineHoly Mountain Tours Page, accessed February 2, 2016. On February 14 of 2005 their début album Variations on a Theme was released via Holy Mountain RecordsDiscogs Variations on a Theme, first accessed 6th August 2015 billed as the "triumphant return of Cisneros and Hakius", attaining largely positive reception. The band sporadically played shows around the San Francisco area in 2005, notably the ArthurBall.Setlist.fm Om Setlist at ArthurBall 2005, first accessed 3rd August 2015 Conference of the Birds followed on April 17, 2006 and has since become one of the duo's seminal releases.Discogs Conference of the Birds, first accessed 6th August 2015 Two split releases, recorded during the Conference of the Birds sessions, followed that year; the first was a split with Current 93 titled Inerrant Rays Of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder) released in JuneDiscogs Inerrant Rays Of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder), first accessed 6th August 2015, with the second, a split with Six Organs Of Admittance, dropping in JulyDiscogs Om / Six Organs of Admittance, first accessed 6th August 2015. Sporadic appearances in New York and a mini-tour followed in support of the album (But no information on a full 2006 tour has been found.). A live recording of "To The Shrinebuilder" culled from a show in Toronto became available for free on the Om Vibratory webpage (and later, the japanese version of Pilgrimage.).Om VibratoryAccessed May 22, 2016 At some point after the release of their second album, Om toured with Grails, where Cisneros would meet and befriend future drummer Emil Amos. After this tour was the band's first full tour of Europe, including a date at the Roadburn Festival. On September 13, 2007 another album would follow in the form of Pilgrimage, their only studio release on the Southern Lord label.Discogs Pilgrimage, first accessed 6th August 2015 Two North American tours, the Pilgrimage Tour, would happen in support of the album. Shortly after, the band performed two nights in what was the Israel Pilgrimage. Their December 5, 2007 show in Jerusalem has become and infamous performance that spanned five hoursSF Gate Om: Sleep bandmates Cisneros, Hakius reunite in new duo, first accessed 6th August 2015, a portion of which saw a physical release on the Southern Lord LP Live at Jerusalem in 2008.Discogs Live at Jerusalem, first accessed 6th August 2015 In 2008 the band performed a short tour of the west coast of USA, with a short east coast tour in the works. On January 20, Om performed at the Echoplex in what would be Chris Hakius' final performance with the band, with a jam including sections from future songs "Thebes" and "Gebel Barkal" being the last song played.Youtube OM @ Echoplex - Gebel Barkal (last song Chris Hakius played w/ OM), first accessed 3rd August 2015. Chris Hakius would retire from music after this show, barring a brief return at the beginning of the Sleep reunion in 2009. In an interview with AVClub Al spoke of Chris' depature. God Is Good and Advaitic Songs (2008 - 2014) Shortly after Hakius' departure, Cisneros reconnected with Emil Amos, which ultimately led to Amos becoming the new drummer for the band.A.V. Club Om's Al Cisneros blazes his way through sonic archaeology, first accessed 3rd August 2015 Notably the band's sound shifted with Amos' style being more based in complexity and fills as compared to Hakius' straightforward style. The first recording with Amos as drummer was the single, Gebel Barkal which was recorded on March 8, 2008 and released on the Sub Pop label on August 15, 2008.Discogs Gebel Barkal, first accessed 6th August 2015 The first known performance of this lineup is May 17 2008 at the Victoriaville Festival in Quebec. Tours of Europe, Japan and the United States would follow. Notably, one of these performances on September 20 in Monticello, NY was at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival. This set would end up being released as Live Conference (sometimes titled "Conference Live") on Important Records a year later.Discogs Conference Live, first accessed 6th August 2015 Al Cisneros would speak fondly of Emil joining the band in an interview with The Quietus: God Is Good was recorded in March 2009. This was around the same time Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe would join the band's live lineup, expanding it to a three-piece. Eventually, God Is Good was released on September 29, 2009 via Drag City.Discogs God Is Good, first accessed 6th August 2015 Various tours and festival appearances would follow before the following album, 'Advaitic Songs, was released on July 24, 2012.Discogs Adviatic Songs, first accessed 6th August 2015 This album explored Middle Eastern and experimental influences more heavily, a drastic shift from their prior sound. In 2013, the band performed at the Temple of Dendur, located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York , performing a special, site-specific version of "At Giza". Temple of Dendur: Metropolitan Museum of Art 2013 was the billed name for the show. Youtube Om - At Giza live at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, 07-19-13, first accessed 3rd August 2015 In November 2013, the band played the final holiday camp edition of the world famous All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England.ATP Festival THE END OF AN ERA PART 2: CURATED BY ATP & LOOP, first accessed 3rd August 2015 The band did two tours of the United States in 2014 with the band Watter. In December 2014, they released a third live album, titled merely LiveDiscogs Live, first accessed 6th August 2015 Recent Activities and Sixth Album (2015 - Present) Om would continue to play sporadic live dates and played another All Tomorrows Parties event at the Electric Ballroom, London, England in November of 2015 along with a full European tour that year.ATP Festival OM & LIGHTNING BOLT + SUPPORT TBC, First accessed 6th August 2015 Om have a follow-up to Advaitic Songs in the works, with initial recording done at Empty House Studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Empty House Studio FacebookFacebook Post January 29, 2014, accessed March 22, 2016. The band embarked on a short West Coast tour in 2016, their only dates throughout the entirety of that year. Om's only announced appearance of 2017 will be in late October at Days of Darkness, a spin-off festival from the same people who conceived Maryland Deathfest (Also at the same location). Om were announced as one of the headliners alongside Neurosis. Rumors would be abound for a sixth album as the band performed only a handful of shows once again in 2018, namely headlining appearances at Levitation Festival and Freak Valley Festival along with an appearance at Muddy Roots Music Festival in which they shared the main stage with High on Fire and Neurosis. Though not known to the public at the time this would be the last live performance with Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe on keyboards. On 6 October the band would make their debut appearance in Mexico at Hipnosis Festival. Notably the lineup was different, with Tyler Trotter (Phantom Family Halo, Watter) performing synths and keyboards rather than Robert A. A. Lowe.Weedian.ds Instagram 2019 would see initial show announcements at DesertFest London, DesertFest Berlin and Hostsabbat along with recoding sessions happening around. Ultimately 2019 would prove to be the band's most productive on the live stage in years, with alternating North American and European tours. On 9 October 2019, Drag City surprise released a double 10" of their live performance on Radio 1 BBC that May, their first release to feature the lineup of Cisneros, Amos and Trotter.Drag City Records Discography Studio Albums *'Variations on a Theme' (2005, Holy Mountain) *'Conference of the Birds' (2006, Holy Mountain) *'Pilgrimage' (2007, Southern Lord) *'God Is Good' (2009, Drag City) *'Advaitic Songs' (2012, Drag City) *TBA (TBA Splits *'Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder)' (2006, Neurot) with Current 93 *'Om / Six Organs of Admittance' (2006, Holy Mountain) with Six Organs of Admittance Live Albums *'Live at Jerusalem' (2008, Southern Lord) *'Live Conference' (2009, Important Records) *'Live' (2014, Outer Battery Records) *'BBC Radio 1' (2019, Drag City Records) Singles *'Gebel Barkal' (2008, Sub Pop) *'Advaitic Dubplate' (2013, Drag City) *'Gethsemene Dubplate' (2013, Drag City) Members Current Members * Al Cisneros - Bass, Vocals (2003-present) * Emil Amos - Drums (2008-present) * Tyler Trotter - Synthesizer, Keyboards (2018-Present) Former Members * Chris Hakius - Drums (2003-2008) * Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer, Percussion (2009-2018) Tours * Om's 2004 Performances (2004) * Om's 2005 Performances (2005) * Conference of the Birds Tour (2006) * 2007 Winter US Tour (2007) * 2007 European Tour (2007) * Pilgrimage Tour (2007) (With Daniel Higgs, Grails on select dates) * Israel Pilgrimage (2007) * Pilgrimage 2008 (2008) * 2008 Japan Tour (2008) * 2008 US Tour (2008) * 2008 European Tour (2008) * 2009 US Tour (2009) * 2009 UK Tour (2009) * 2010 European Tour (2010) * 2010 Australian Tour (2010) * 2011 European Tour (2011) * 2012 Spring European Tour (2012) * 2012 Fall European Tour (2012) * 2012 East Coast USA Tour (2012) (Rescheduled; With Daniel Higgs) * 2013 West Coast USA Tour (2013) * 2013 Australian Tour (2013) * 2013 May/June European Tour (2013) * Temple of Dendur: Metropolitan Museum of Art 2013 (2013) * 2013 European Tour (2013) * 2014 West Coast USA Tour (2014) (With Watter) * 2014 East Coast USA Tour (2014) (With Watter) * 2015 East Coast USA Tour (2015) * 2015 European Tour (2015) * Late 2010s Performances (2016 - 2019) * 2020 North American Tour (With Wovenhand) (2020)Om Facebook * 2020 European Tour (With Pharaoh Overlord on UK dates.) (2020)Om Facebook External Links *Official Website *Facebook *Twitter *Archived interview with Al Cisneros circa 2005 *Archived interview with Al and Chris circa 2007. *Archived announcement. References Category:Band Category:San Francisco Category:California Category:USA Category:Avant-garde Category:Psychedelic Rock Category:Om Category:Southern Lord Records Category:Holy Mountain Records Category:Sub Pop Records Category:Al Cisneros Category:Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe Category:Emil Amos Category:Tyler Trotter Category:Albuquerque Category:New Mexico Category:Louisville Category:Kentucky Category:Portland Category:Oregon Category:Middle Eastern Folk Category:Experimental Category:Dub Category:Doom Metal